Is it Any Wonder They Call it… Amazing Grace – a Ragamuffin Blog

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conservatism

3 Issues in the new Trump era.
1) Rule via executive order. Republicans and conservatives rightly were incensed over the way president Obama thumbed his nose at the opposition and bypassed congress by executive orders. Trump is doubling down on Obama’s precedent and the right is largely silent about it or excuse it. We do not have a king. We believe in limited government with checks and balances. The law making body of the US is the congress not the president. Whether I am in agreement with the substance of Trump’s changes does not matter – making the change in a way that honors the well designed checks and balances of our founders does.
2) When Obama nominated his cabinet the sneaky democrats found a way to cheat past the 60% requirement to break a filibuster by changing the 60% requirement rule with a 50% vote. Republicans were rightly incensed. But now that power has shifted into their hands they are taking advantage of the same rule they had said was wrong. I agree with their original assessment and believe that they should change the rule back with a provision that it cannot be changed without a 60% vote. I realize this is unfair because the democrats benefited from the rule change and we would likely have some of Trump’s nominees rejected, but I believe it would be the right thing to do.
3) For the last 8 years Republians have hit Obama over the head with his exponential driving up of the debt. He took it from 10 trillion to 20 trillion during his time in office. It is deplorable and the republicans were right to denounce it. But now, with a Republican majority in the house and senate and the white house, the first order of business for the Republicans was to pass a budget which BY THEIR OWN ESTIMATES drives up the debt another 10 trillion to 30 trillion in the next ten years.
Where is the conservative party? I like some of Trump’s direction. I like the Department of Education nominee. I like the SCOTUS nominee, but at what cost? If we drive over the top of our opponents because we presently wield the power it will come back doubly when the power shifts hands again. Let’s return to a conservative, limited form of government as envisioned by the founders, rather than continuing down the well trodden road of power hungry politics.